Somebody Help This Poor Guy: Best Restaurant to Pop The Question in Dallas

I feel like we’ve answered this before, but I can’t find it. So, I’ll throw it out there again. A boy loves a girl and wants to make her his bride. He’s toast:

Hey Nancy! I know you help a lot of people find places so I was hoping your people could help me. I am a hopeless romantic. I have basically spoiled my girlfriend with flowers, special dinners, romantic trips and the like. I want to ask her to marry me and I want it to be perfect. Is there a restaurant in Dallas that specializes in marriage proposals? I may hire a violinist so we will need some privacy.

Well, this isn’t my area of expertise. Anyone out there with a thought? Or ten?

28 comments on “Somebody Help This Poor Guy: Best Restaurant to Pop The Question in Dallas”

Most romantic restaurant in Dallas (IMO) – The French Room. Don’t think it would be appropriate for a hired violinist, but otherwise, I cannot imagine anyone who wouldn’t be impressed/overwhelmed to be proposed to there.

If you’re going to do it that way, do it right and get the Chef’s Table @ The Mansion (the one in the corner outside the Library). Don’t do it if you’re not a foodie willing to go through Bruno’s amazing tasting menu. Skip the violinist, that’s embarrassingly tacky. Another option if you’re set on the violin thing is the rooftop deck at Tei-An. That way you’ll be alone with a great view and incredible food.

I’m with RS and Tinkerbell. Are you ready for the reality of marriage, as opposed to the contrivances of romance and courting? Any exposure to dirty socks and underwear, smelly farts, or good old fashioned heated arguments? Public proposals work in the movies thanks to the arts and craft of good writing, directing and acting, but in the unscripted world they are not terribly intimate and border on kitsch.

What about cooking for her at home? Dinner and its preparation need not be elaborate; in fact, I would strive for simplicity so you both can focus on the joy of the moment. Then of course, there is always the possibility of the unjoyous outcome: the “let me think about it” response, or even the “not now, maybe later” or the “I’m sorry but no” responses, neither of which is swallowed and digested well in public.

If surprise is an objective, a sudden upscale dinner reservation may in itself be a tip off unless your romantic entreaties have been well populated with fine dining. If romantic upscale is to be the order of the day, then the Mansion is an excellent choice. It is romantic, serves excellent food, and is likely to be around for what you hope to be many anniversaries. If future revisitations are not a concern, then the Grape is an excellent suggestion, as is Biernat’s, Parigi’s and a host of smaller noninstitutional venues, though these places do not offer the room and bed available at hotel restaurants, which can be pleasurable and romantic apres dinner retreat.

True surprise will correlate with downscale venues, though sinking to the likes of Chuckie Cheese may offer too much surprise in the most unintended meaning of the word. In this instance (not as upscale as the Mansion, not as terrible as the pzza chain) go to a restaurant you both enjoy or that perhaps represents a shared happy memory, e.g., your first date, the restaurant preceding your first sex together, or some other place of commonly shared happiness. Whatever the choice, avoid the typical props, like placing the ring in a drink, dessert, under a napkin, or with the evening’s bill of fare. In the end, it is you expressing your love for your girlfriend and your inability to live happily without her companionship, not middlemen represented by the orchestrations of the restaurant or its staff.

My best wishes for a happy engagement and marriage, but reiterate the benefits of proposing at your home, a place which you will hopefully share for many anniversaries to come.

@primi timpano
Know what’s awesome? The restaurant we went to on our first date, preceding our first sex together, proposed to my wife and Chuck E Cheese are all one and the same! It’s the only time I’ve ever been there but it was great!

Dear Me,
That is awesome. Why no revisits for anniversaries or old times sake? Upon further reflection on this topic I realized that as a guy I am cluless about what a woman wants in a proposal–or anything else, for that matter. I suggest the poor guy with the hanging question rephrase it and seek the advice of the women on this forum. They can probably enlighten a lot of us as to the selection of restaurants, bended knees, short question versus longish speech, etc. I am sure there are a lot of things men think to be just fine but are the objects of shock, disgust and ridicule in drawing rooms the world over.

The Joule hotel in Dallas has a private rooftop terrace that would serve as the perfect backdrop. Charlie Palmer can provide the perfect setting beneath the stars~white table cloth, candles, and of course, excellent food and wine!

French Room…my husband proposed privately before dinner, and then the tasting menu was our celebration afterward. Choose the latest booking, they will let you linger after everyone leaves and it is heaven. Private, elegant, and quiet. Impeccable service too…but if you do wine pairings with the tasting menu, be sure to either book a room or a limo! The ambiance is old-school but the menu is inventive and fresh.